Sexual Battery — Louisiana
Sexual Battery Lawyer New Orleans
In Louisiana Sexual Battery is the intentional touching of the anus or genitals of another person using any instrumentality or any part of the body of the offender. This offense also encompasses the touching of the anus or genitals of the offender by the victim using any instrumentality or any part of the body of the victim, when the offender acts without the con set of the victim or when the act is consensual but the victim is under 15 and is at least 3 years younger than the offender.
If the offender is 17 years of age or older, the act of sexual battery exists when the act is without consent and the victim is physically disabled, incapable of understanding the act or the victim is 65 years of age or older.
Lack of knowledge of the victim’s age shall not be a defense. However, normal medical treatment or normal sanitary care shall not be construed as an offense under the provisions of this Section.
The penalty for sexual battery is imprisonment for not more than 10 years with or without hard labor, without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. Since this is a sex crime, the sentence will be served without the benefit of good time.
When the victim was under the age of 13 and the offender is 17 years old or older, the penalty is imprisonment at hard labor for 25 to 99 years. At least 25 years of the sentence imposed shall be served without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.
If the victim was 65 years of age or older or physically or mentally impaired at the time, the penalty is imprisonment at hard labor for 25-99 years. At least 25 years of the sentence imposed shall be served without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.
Whoever is convicted of Sexual Battery will have to Register as a Sex Offender for 15 years — To be conducted annually.
Whoever is convicted of Sexual Battery on a victim under the age of 18 will have to Register as a Sex Offender for life — To be conducted quarterly.
Obtaining Legal Assistance
If you or a loved one is facing a SEXUAL BATTERY charge, you must contact dwi attorney new orleans for a consultation. Early intervention by an experienced Sex Crimes Defense Attorney can make a tremendous difference in your case. We are here to defend you, not judge you
Sexual Battery of Persons with Infirmities
In Louisiana, the crime of Sexual Battery of the Infirm may be found at La. R.S. 14:93.5. It is the intentional engaging in any of the sexual acts listed below with another person, who is not the spouse of the offender, when:
(1) The offender compels the victim, who is physically incapable of preventing the act because of advanced age or physical infirmity, to submit by placing the victim in fear of receiving bodily harm.
(2) The victim is incapable of resisting or of understanding the nature of the act by reason of stupor or abnormal condition of the mind produced by an intoxicating, narcotic, or anesthetic agent administered by or with the privity of the offender.
(3) The victim has such incapacity, by reason of a stupor or abnormal condition of mind from any cause, and the offender knew or should have known of the victim’s incapacity.
(4) The victim is incapable, through unsoundness of mind, whether temporary or permanent, of understanding the nature of the act, and the offender knew or should have known of the victim’s incapacity.
Definitions
“Sexual acts” mean either of the following:
(1) The touching of the anus or genitals of the victim by the offender using any instrumentality or any part of the body of the offender.
OR
(2) The touching of the anus or genitals of the offender by the victim using any instrumentality or any part of the body of the victim.
Note: Normal medical treatments or sanitary care is not considered a violation of this offense.
Penalties / Sentencing : Sexual Batter of the Infirm
Whoever commits the crime of sexual battery of persons with infirmities shall be punished by imprisonment, with or without hard labor, for not more than 20 years.
If the victim is a resident of a nursing home, facility for persons with intellectual disabilities, mental health facility, hospital, or other residential facility and the offender is an employee of such home or facility, the offender shall be punished by imprisonment, with or without hard labor, for not more than 25 years.
Legal Assistance
If you have been arrested for a crime against the infirm or if your loved one is the victim of a crime against the infirm, contact New orleans criminal lawyer
Cyberbullying Faculty Training at Ben Franklin
New orleans criminal lawyer, gave a presentation on cyberbullying to the faculty of Benjamin Franklin High School in New Orleans. The purpose of this event was to help the staff members fulfill their required 2 hours of annual training in spotting, preventing and handling bullying. Bullying, especially of LGBT students, is a serious problem in our communities. We must continue to address this issue and form a united front against bullying. Did you know….
- 9 out of 10 LGBT students reported being harassed and bullied last year.
- About two-thirds of LGBT students reported having ever been sexually harassed (e.g., sexual remarks made, being touched inappropriately) in school in the past year.
- The average GPA for students who were frequently physically harassed because of their sexual orientation was half a grade lower than that of other students.
- LGBT students are twice as likely to say that they were not planning on going on to college.
- Gay teens are 8.4 times more likely to report having attempted suicide and 5.9 times more likely to report high levels of depression.
These statistics are tragic in my opinion.
Attorney Wins Motion to Remove Client from Sex Registry
A New orleans criminal lawyer now has a “new lease on life” by no longer having to register with local authorities as a sex offender, thanks to the efforts of Elizabeth B. Esq.
The man, now in his late 30s, was only a freshman in college when he was convicted of felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile in the late 1990s following intimate contact with a minor who was only a few years younger than him. Earlier this week, successfully argued a motion that her client should be removed from the offender registry because of a 2001 change in the law that established certain cases as misdemeanors.
When her client was charged with the crime nearly two decades ago, all convictions for carnal knowledge involving a juvenile were considered felonies and required registration as a sex offender, regardless of small differences in age between the defendant and the accuser. But in August 2001, Louisiana enacted the misdemeanor charge to address cases involving carnal knowledge of a juvenile when there is an age difference of less than four years between the defendant and the accuser.
The misdemeanor charge is similar to what other states refer to as “statutory rape” or “Romeo and Juliet” crimes. State lawmakers also agreed that it should be applied retroactively, meaning that those who were previously convicted of a felony could seek to be removed from sex-offender registration if the circumstances of their case fit the parameters of the 2001 misdemeanor statute.
“Sadly, there are many people on the sex-offender registry who do not know that they can be removed from the registry under this provision,” Carpenter said after winning the motion on behalf of her client.
Sex-offender status can lead to many problems for those who may have been unfairly convicted of a crime. They may find it difficult to maintain family relations and friendships or obtain employment and housing.
“I am thrilled with this result because anytime someone who does not fit the profile of a predator can be removed from the sex-offender registry, they feel like it gives them a new lease on life,” Carpenter added.
The age of consent for sexual relations ranges from 16 to 18 in U.S. states. Louisiana’s age of consent is 17. Therefore, if a 21-year-old has consensual sex with a 16-year-old, regardless of the younger person’s sexual history and maturity level, the adult could be charged with felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile.
The misdemeanor charge relates to sexual intercourse between a person who is 17 or older and a person who is between 13 and 16, when the difference between the age of the victim is greater than two years but less than four years. Thus, it could be applied to a case of consensual sex involving a 19-year-old and a 16-year-old.
Laws pertaining to “carnal knowledge of a juvenile” have been criticized inside and outside of the legal community. Some experts say that a person slightly younger than the age of consent might possess enough intelligence and common sense to make mature decisions about sex, while some adults might never develop that ability, no matter their age.
If you’ve been charged with felony and misdemeanor charges involving sex-related offenses, contact New Orleans sex crimes Attorney Elizabeth Bagert for a consultation. Let her experience work for you.
